Experienced walkers will be able to tackle the route on their own, but we are also organising guided walks. July sees the inaugural guided trip set out in Stevenson’s footsteps across the Isle of Mull. It starts at the very beginning of the Stevenson Way, where the novel’s protagonist David Balfour is shipwrecked, and spends a week wrapped in this Hebridean isle’s mystical charms.

You can choose whether to stay in a hotel, B&B or to camp. Whichever you opt for you can enjoy the same rugged mountain and coastal scenery as your leader guides you across an ever changing wildscape of heather moor, peat bog and rocky beaches. En route the island’s rich and flora and fauna add an extra dimension with deer and eagles to look out for on land and in the air and otters, seals and dolphins to spot in the water. As you go you can scan your imagination for glimpses of the hunted Balfour eking his way across the same landscape.

Day 1 – Arrival on Mull

We kick off the trip by really delving below the surface of Stevenson’s novel, as well as giving the background to the Stevenson Way and what the week will involve. There is plenty of opportunity to ask any questions that you may have as well as to meet the rest of the group.

Day 2 – Island of Erraid and Balfour’s Bay

The day starts off imagining David Balfour scrambling ashore on Erraid, an island separated from Mull by 100m of sand. We then push east along the Ross of Mull. Our destination is Ardalanish, which is reached across moors and hills, with the intriguing abandoned villages of Breac Achadh and Tir Fhearagain to explore on the way. There is evidence of even earlier human inhabitation in the form of an Iron Age fort too. 

Day 3 – From Uisken to Shiaba

Today we push on from Uisken and leave its sandy bay and crofting community behind. We keep a keen eye out for eagles as we go as they are known to nest in the area. There are fascinating little villages to explore as we continue on towards Shiaba. Perhaps the day’s highlight is Kilvickeon Chapel, a ruin that dates back to medieval times, pre-dating Kidnapped of course, but only adding to the drama of the Way. 

Day 4 – To Carsaig via Malcolm's Point

The walk continues heading east along the south of Mull with the Atlantic Ocean never far away. Highlights today include the stunning cliffs of Malcolm’s Point and the Carsaig Arches. The coastal scenery, of vaulting sea cliffs and rocky beaches, is nothing short of spectacular on a potentially tricky stretch where it really pays to have a guide. It is a breathtaking experience being humbled by the size of these mighty cliffs.

Day 5 – From Carsaig to Lochbuie and up Glen More

A coastal walk to start the day over to postcard pretty Lochbuie where we turn our back on the water and head north inland up Glen More. There is a good chance to see deer and golden eagles too as we plunge deeper and deeper into the glen. 

Day 6 – Glen More through Glen Forsa and on to Pennygowan

Our last day is certainly no anticlimax as we scythe right through the centre of the island, cutting first through Glen More and then on into Glen Forsa. Glen Forsa rather surprisingly boasts its own airport, well at least a perfectly passable landing strip for small aircraft. The Sound of Mull is reached at Pennygowan. The walking group has by this time been welded together both by the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, but also an appreciation of the spectacular landscapes that so fired his imagination.